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Metropolitan Notes: Panarin, Vesey, Acciari, Fasching

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Rangers forwards Artemi Panarin and Jimmy Vesey missed Wednesday’s practice and are out on a day-to-day basis with lower-body injuries, per the team’s public relations department. Both players were banged up in yesterday’s win over the Stars but did not miss significant chunks of the game.

Panarin has been on a tear this past week, notching a goal and six assists in his last three games. The 32-year-old is on pace to break the 40-goal barrier for the first time and is tied for fifth in points league-wide with 75 in 56 games.

Vesey is one of the Rangers’ most valuable depth talents, posting 12 goals and 18 points in 54 games despite extreme even-strength shutdown usage. Now 30 years old, Vesey is in his second go-around with the Rangers after spending the first three seasons of his NHL career there from 2016 to 2019.

Averaging 12:26 per game, Vesey has been elevated into the top six alongside Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad after Blake Wheeler sustained a season-ending leg injury last week. Alex Belzile is on the roster as a 13th forward and will make his season debut against the Devils tomorrow if one of Panarin or Vesey can’t play, and the Rangers have roster and cap space for an additional recall if both miss time.

More updates from the Metro:

  • Penguins forward Noel Acciari is on a fast-track recovery from his concussion, skating in a regular jersey at Wednesday’s practice after being cleared for non-contact practice yesterday (via Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports). He’s missed six games after sustaining the concussion on a hit from Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon, which earned him a three-game suspension. It’s been a trying first season in Pittsburgh for the 32-year-old, who’s mustered three goals and one assist in 39 games despite averaging nearly 13 minutes. Acciari joined former Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas on the Toronto-to-Pittsburgh pipeline last summer, signing a three-year, $6MM contract with a modified no-trade clause that’s looking like a regrettable decision for the Penguins’ front office.
  • The Islanders moved winger Hudson Fasching to LTIR on Wednesday, per a team announcement. The move is retroactive to Jan. 25; he’s missed seven games with a lower-body injury and is now dealing with an illness. He has been ruled out of the Islanders’ next three contests as a result and will be eligible to return on Feb. 29 against the Red Wings. Placing him on LTIR frees up the necessary roster and cap space for the Islanders to recall a forward from AHL Bridgeport after fourth-line anchor Casey Cizikas sustained a hand injury in last night’s win in Pittsburgh. Fasching, 28, has scored three times and added five assists in 35 games.

Capitals Recall Pierrick Dubé

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The Capitals recalled forward Pierrick Dubé from the AHL’s Hershey Bears on Wednesday, per a team announcement.

Dubé, 23, could make his NHL debut against the Lightning on Thursday after Nic Dowd sustained an upper-body injury in last night’s 6-2 win over the Devils. Born in Lyon, France, Dubé signed a two-year, entry-level contract with Washington when free agency opened last July. He went undrafted throughout his junior career with the QMJHL’s Québec Remparts, Chicoutimi Saguenéens and Shawinigan Cataractes.

The 5-foot-9 winger was a surprise breakout star with the AHL’s Laval Rocket last year, earning an early-season call-up from the ECHL and posting 32 points in 44 games in his first pro season. He’s carried that momentum into a strong campaign with Hershey, leading the AHL’s best team (39-9-2) and defending Calder Cup champions with 24 goals in 50 games.

Dubé becomes the third active French national on an NHL roster, joining Blue Jackets winger Alexandre Texier and Kraken center Pierre-Édouard Bellemare. He carries Canadian citizenship, having played in their junior circuit since 2014, but played for the local youth team in Lyon. He has represented France internationally at different levels of the U18 and U20 World Juniors.

However, there’s no guarantee that Dubé will draw into the lineup to replace Dowd. The Capitals were already carrying veteran Nicolas Aubé-Kubel as a 13th forward, and he remains an option to play Thursday. Neither player is a natural center, so Beck Malenstyn will likely shift to fill Dowd’s spot as the third-line pivot while head coach Spencer Carbery shuffles his bottom-six wingers.

Dubé’s ELC carries an $870K cap hit, which is of no concern to Washington with Nicklas Bäckström and his $9.2MM cap hit on LTIR for the rest of the season. He will be an RFA upon expiry in 2025.

Rangers Extend Jonny Brodzinski

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The Rangers have signed center Jonny Brodzinski to a two-year extension, according to a team announcement Wednesday. The contract is a one-way deal with a cap hit of $787.5K, Peter Baugh of The Athletic and Mollie Walker of the New York Post report. In total, the contract will earn him $1.575MM.

Brodzinski, 30, was in the final season of a two-year, two-way $1.525MM extension signed in 2022. Without a new deal, he would have been a UFA for the third time in his career this summer.

The minor-league mainstay has been a quietly important piece on the Rangers’ third line. With four goals, 15 points and decent possession numbers in 37 games, he’s helped shoulder the season-ending injury to Filip Chytil that’s kept him out since November.

Centering a solid two-way depth unit between William Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko, Brodzinski’s games and points marks are the highest of his career. This year is the most NHL action he’s seen since logging six points in 35 games with the Kings in a limited role in the 2017-18 campaign.

A fifth-round pick of Los Angeles in 2013, Brodzinski has never inked a full one-way contract. He did earn a one-way salary of $650K in the 2018-19 season as part of the second half of a two-year deal with Los Angeles.

The now-former captain of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack has recorded over a point per game in all four seasons with the Rangers’ primary affiliate since joining the organization as a free agent in 2020. Dating back to his pro debut in 2015 after wrapping up his collegiate career with St. Cloud State University, Brodzinski has 126 goals, 141 assists and 267 points in 313 AHL games across nine seasons.

His pro career has been split entirely between the Kings and Rangers, aside from a one-year stint with the Sharks in 2019-20. He’s been a decent per-game producer in his limited NHL opportunities thus far, scoring 32 points in 138 career big-league games, but his 0.41 points per game this season is a career-high.

Brodzinski will earn the league-minimum salary of $775K in 2024-25 and $800K in 2025-26, per CapFriendly. He will be a UFA upon expiry.

Frederik Andersen Expected To Return Within 2 Weeks

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Hurricanes netminder Frederik Andersen is expected to return to play within one to two weeks after missing most of the season with blood clotting issues, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports Wednesday.

Andersen, 34, last played in a 2-1 loss to the Rangers on Nov. 2. Four days later, GM Don Waddell announced the Dane would be out indefinitely after medical tests uncovered the clotting problems.

Team doctors then cleared him to resume “limited on-ice conditioning” at the end of January, ending a nearly three-month recovery period. Waddell also confirmed that Andersen’s clotting issues stemmed from a deep-vein thrombosis and subsequent pulmonary embolism, which is life-threatening without emergency care.

The Hurricanes did not issue a timeline for Andersen’s return, but he’s steadily ramped up his conditioning over the past few weeks. He was far enough in his recovery to face shots from teammates in the starter’s crease during Monday’s practice as a fill-in for de facto starter Pyotr Kochetkov, who was taking a maintenance day.

The updated return timeline should allow Andersen to start at least one game before the March 8 trade deadline, which could further dissuade Waddell from acquiring another veteran netminder to supplant the struggling Antti Raanta (12-7-2, .872 SV%) in the backup role. Waiver claim Spencer Martin has helped alleviate Carolina’s goaltending concerns in limited action, posting a .920 SV%, 2.00 GAA, and 3-0-0 record in three starts.

Kochetkov, 24, has rebounded nicely after a slow start and is now up to a .905 SV% on the season with two shutouts. He’s started the most games out of any Hurricanes netminder this year with 26 and two relief appearances. However, his poor showings in limited playoff action (5 GP, 1 GS, 1-3-0, .858 SV%) likely give Waddell pause about entering the postseason with him as the only starting option.

Andersen’s .894 SV% through the campaign’s first month is far from impressive, but it’s easy to give the two-time Jennings Trophy winner the benefit of the doubt. He’s two years removed from a spectacular 2021-22 campaign with Carolina that saw him fall just short of a Vezina nomination, and he was excellent in nine playoff games last year to help backstop the Hurricanes to an Eastern Conference Final showing with a .927 SV% and 1.83 GAA. A healthy version of Andersen changes the Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup aspirations dramatically, and they’d ideally like to get him into game action as soon as possible to assess his readiness before leveraging Raanta or Martin at the deadline for a minor depth upgrade in the crease.

Snapshots: Maple Leafs, Dowd, Harris, Broberg

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The Maple Leafs have shown interest in Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro and forward Luke Kunin, reports The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta.  It’s believed that Toronto doesn’t want to part with a first-round pick for a rental but Ferraro has two years left on his contract at a $3.25MM cap charge while Kunin is controllable for one more year if he’s tendered a $3MM qualifying offer.  Ferraro is logging nearly 23 minutes a night on San Jose’s back end and would certainly give Toronto a boost in their top four while Kunin has struggled offensively, scoring just eight times in 50 games so far.  With Toronto’s interest, it’s worth noting that cap space is quite tight at the moment and as things stand, they can’t afford the full contract of one of those players let alone both.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that center Nic Dowd suffered an upper-body injury in tonight’s game against New Jersey. The 33-year-old has become a reliable bottom-six middleman in recent years and has 16 points through 45 games while taking the second-most faceoffs on the team.  Signed for another year at a $1.3MM price tag, Dowd has been a speculative trade candidate in a center market that is quite thin now.
  • Canadiens defenseman Jordan Harris has been cleared to return, notes RDS’ Luc Gelinas (Twitter link). The blueliner also confirmed that the upper-body injury he was dealing with was a concussion, the second of his career.  Harris has played in 31 games so far this season, picking up a goal and five assists while averaging a little over 17 minutes a night.
  • One of Edmonton’s possible trade chips is defenseman Philip Broberg. However, the blueliner hasn’t played in the last ten days and it appears as if he’ll be out for a little while longer as Ryan Holt, the broadcaster for their AHL affiliate, relays (Twitter link) that Broberg’s injury appears to be more of a week-to-week case.  The 22-year-old is in the final year of his entry-level deal and has 19 points in 29 games with the Condors but has been held off the scoresheet in ten games with the Oilers this season.

Minor Transactions: 2/20/24

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While we wait for the trade market to pick up with the deadline now less than three weeks away, there still have been plenty of transactions but largely of the minor variety.  Here’s a rundown of some recent moves with NHL ties.

  • Logan Stankoven’s NHL debut will have to wait. After being recalled earlier today for precautionary reasons, the Stars announced (Twitter link) that the 20-year-old was returned to AHL Texas.  Stankoven has been dominant in his first professional campaign, notching 24 goals and 33 assists in 46 games to lead the AHL in scoring.
  • The Golden Knights announced (Twitter link) that they’ve re-assigned center Byron Froese to AHL Henderson. The 32-year-old played in two games with Vegas on this latest recall, bringing his season total to nine although he’s still looking for his first point.  Froese has 15 points in 37 games so far with the Silver Knights.
  • Artem Anisimov’s time in the Rangers organization has come to an end as he was released from his PTO with AHL Hartford, per a team release. The 35-year-old joined the Wolf Pack early last month and got into 18 games but managed just a goal and three assists.  A veteran of 771 career NHL games, it looks unlikely that Anisimov will be adding to that total.
  • A trio of former NHL players are sticking around in Switzerland as Fribourg-Gotteron of the NL recently announced that forwards Lucas Wallmark, Marcus Sorensen, and Jacob de La Rose have all signed two-year extensions through the 2026-27 season. Each player last saw time at the NHL level back in the 2020-21 campaign with de la Rose having the most experience, suiting up in 242 games between Montreal, Detroit, and St. Louis.

Morgan Rielly’s Suspension Affirmed By NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman

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With the fifth and final game of Morgan Rielly’s suspension being set to be served on Wednesday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was going to need to get his ruling on Rielly’s appeal made quickly.  That decision has now been made with the league announcing that Bettman has affirmed the five-game ban and that no change will be coming.

The NHLPA filed the appeal last week on Rielly’s behalf.  According to the notes in Bettman’s ruling, they argued that the principal point of contact being the body, Rielly’s history of no supplemental discipline, and that Senators forward Ridly Greig wasn’t injured on the play were reasons to reduce the suspension.  Bettman acknowledged that Rielly’s clean history and the lack of injury were already factored into the decision, suggesting that had this not been the case, the suspension almost certainly would have been considerably longer.

Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs argued that Greig’s actions (slapping the puck into the empty net in the dying seconds of the game) were provocative, an argument that Bettman felt was “utterly irrelevant”.

While Toronto has certainly missed Rielly at a time when their back end is already thinned out, his absence hasn’t hurt them in the standings as they’ve won all four games and will try to make it five on Wednesday.  He’ll be eligible to return the following night against Vegas.

Update On San Jose’s Deadline Plans

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In an article today from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, he indicates that the San Jose Sharks holding the status of a deadline seller could be a bit of an understatement. Pagnotta reports that San Jose General Manager Mike Grier has the phone lines open and is well-positioned to complete a full-on fire sale by March 8th.

Although some teams have reportedly been calling the Sharks in regards to Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl, their contracts and injury status this season make a trade all the more unlikely. A bulk of San Jose’s movement should primarily come out of their second- and third-tier groups, such as Mario Ferraro, Anthony Duclair, Mikael Granlund, Mike Hoffman, Alexander Barabanov, Luke Kunin, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Kaapo Kahkonen, Kevin Labanc, and Jan Rutta.

Outside of a few, most of these players may not command a large return individually but could net the Sharks a nice return in the bigger picture. With the bonus of being able to retain the salary of at least one outgoing player, San Jose’s cupboard for prospects and draft picks could very well expand considerably in the next 20 days.

As far as what the Sharks may be looking for in a return, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now wrote today that the head coach of the team, David Quinn, is looking to add more size to the lineup. Depending on how aggressive the organization wants to be in realizing this desire from Quinn, there should be options available to them at the deadline.

Although an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, San Jose could look to poach defenseman Tyler Myers away from the Vancouver Canucks, who is tied for the tallest defenseman in the NHL this season. Unfortunately, Myers is the owner of a modified no-trade clause, and he may be unwilling to drop 30 spots in the standings for a change of scenery.

The available options certainly shrink on the offensive front, but there is one option that could entice the Sharks at this year’s deadline. Recently positioning themselves as a deadline buyer, the Detroit Red Wings could be willing to part with prospect Elmer Soderblom for the right return. Standing at the same height as Myers, the 22-year-old prospect has scored six goals and 19 points in 41 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins this season.

Injury Notes: O’Connor, Murphy, Acciari

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Missing the team’s last three games due to a lower-body injury, Logan O’Connor will once again not be an option for the Colorado Avalanche as they match up against the Vancouver Canucks tonight (X Link). Still considered day-to-day, the Avalanche are waiting for O’Connor to fully recover so that he may be in the lineup more continuously.

Already setting a career-high in goals this season with 13, O’Connor is well on his way to setting career-highs in assists and points, as well. Not only has been playing considerably better compared to his career averages, but he is also tied for fourth on the team in goals while leading the team in short-handed tallies.

With O’Connor set to miss his fourth straight game, it will also allow the team to give an extended look to Chris Wagner, who was recalled on February 16th. In his first game back in an Avalanche sweater since the 2015-16 season, he skated in a little over six minutes of the team’s recent contest against the Arizona Coyotes, putting up zero points.

Other injury notes:

  • Still rehabbing his way back from a groin injury that has kept him out of the lineup since January 13th, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy is looking for a second opinion on his injury according to Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago. Offering no timeline for his return, it appears that Murphy will still be out for the foreseeable future. Registering a full season last year; Murphy has had plenty of injury concerns in the past and has only suited up in 46 games for the Blackhawks up to this point in the season.
  • Out with a concussion ever since a blow to the head from Winnipeg Jets’ defenseman Brenden Dillon on February 6th, Pittsburgh Penguins’ forward Noel Acciari has returned to practice in a non-contact jersey (X Link). Brought in as an unrestricted free agent last offseason, the Penguins were hoping that Acciari could give a major boost to Pittsburgh’s bottom-six. In 39 games before entering concussion protocol, Acciari scored three goals and four points for the Penguins as well as delivering 92 total hits to opponents.

Trade Deadline Primer: New York Islanders

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With the All-Star break in the rearview, the trade deadline looms large and is now just a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the New York Islanders.

The New York Islanders have already made their big splash of the new year, hiring legendary goaltender Patrick Roy to take over for Lane Lambert, who was in his second year with the team. Roy has provided energy and spunk to an Islanders team that needed a jolt. He’s also boosted the ice time of key players like Mathew Barzal and Noah Dobson, helping give the team clear leaders to follow. Unfortunately, Roy hasn’t seen the on-ice results just yet. New York is 3-3-3 under their new brass, which also features new coach Benoit Desrosiers, and has seen a dip in their scoring, averaging an even 3.00 goals-per-game under Roy, a step down from the 3.13 goals-per-game they averaged since the start of December under Lambert. This lack of improvement has kept the Islanders on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff race, six points behind the second Wild Card, currently held onto by Detroit. The Islanders will look to bring in whatever help they can at the looming Trade Deadline but it seems the real difference-maker may have to come from within.

Record

22-18-14, 5th in the Metropolitan Division.

Deadline Status

Conservative Sellers

Deadline Cap Space

$0.0MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2024: NYI 1st, NYI 2nd, NYI 4th, NYI 5th, NYI 6th
2025: NYI 1st, NYI 2nd, NYI 3rd, NYI 4th, NYI 5th, NYI 6th, NYI 7th

Trade Chips

The Islanders are bound by the cap this Deadline, and unlikely to make any move if they can’t clear out space first. There are plenty of options for high-cap hits that they could move out, though each would likely need a hefty sweetener attached that New York might not be able to pay. Jean-Gabriel Pageau may be the most likely cap clearance. The 31-year-old centerman makes a hefty $5MM through the end of the 2025-26 season but has just 22 points and a -11 through 54 games this season to show for it. Pageau has served a proud role as a middle-six centerman for the Islanders, and scored a commendable 13 goals and 40 points last season, but decreased production this year could make the cap space more valuable than Pageau’s role. The same could be said about newcomer Pierre Engvall, whose $3MM cap hit is slightly less daunting and whose role as a middle-six winger is slightly easier to fill. Engvall has just 17 points in 48 games this season, bringing his point totals with the Islanders up to 26 across a combined 66 games. He’s looked strong at times but may better fit on a contender looking to add depth. Teams could also be flattered by Engvall’s long-term contract, with the 27-year-old winger signed through the next seven seasons.

Unfortunately, New York doesn’t boast much future capital to make any cap clearance work. The team does have both their first and second-round picks in the next two drafts, and general manager Lou Lamoriello has shown little hesitancy in moving top picks for immediate solutions, but the asking price to move out such hefty contracts could be a little too sweet. Ruslan Iskhakov could be a strong incentive for other teams. The 23-year-old centerman currently leads the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders in scoring with 13 goals and 35 points. It’s his second season in the AHL, with Iskhakov netting 51 points in 69 games last year. He’s an established pro, with experience in Finland’s Liiga and Germany’s DEL, where he again proved to be one of his team’s most productive players. The 2018 second-round pick has yet to receive the first call-up of his career, though he certainly seems poised to make an impact when given the chance. The prospects of what could be from such a productive, young professional could excite teams enough to take some of New York’s baggage.

Team Needs

1) Build For The Future – The season isn’t doomed for the Islanders, but it’s certainly not looking as optimistic as past years. With the team locked into so many long-term deals with veterans, it’s time they turn their attention towards the future and bank whatever draft capital or young prospects that they can. The Islanders currently have the fourth-oldest roster in the NHL, behind Pittsburgh, Washington, and Edmonton. While clearing cap space will give them the chance to bring change-makers into the NHL lineup quickly, building out their prospect pool will help New York slowly add youth back into the fold. Their best bet may be to find lucrative options, like trading for lucrative and emerging prospects like Florida seventh-round pick Jack Devine, who has 44 points in 30 NCAA games this year. The Islanders could also look to reel in some of the young targets on the open market, like Arthur Kaliyev, Philip Broberg, or Kaapo Kakko. Each 22-year-old has their own degree of uncertainty but may be able to carve out a long-term NHL role with a change of scenery. Finding options to fit the team in two or three years would be a good start to an Islanders team currently without much reinforcement.

2) A Solution On Defense – The Islanders have surprisingly struggled to keep pucks out of the net, even despite star goaltender Ilya Sorokin’s .910 save percentage in 39 games this season. That problem has remedied itself a little bit under Patrick Roy – with New York’s average goals allowed sat at 3.22 over their last nine games, as opposed to 3.61 in Lambert’s final 23 games. But they’re still being outscored at a steady pace and rank as one of the NHL’s worst teams at mounting a comeback, with the eighth-worst win percentage when trailing by two goals. New York tried to remedy this issue earlier in the season, trading for Robert Bortuzzo, but Bortuzzo played in just 11 games with the Islanders before ending up on injured reserve. While they aren’t plagued with the long list of injured defensemen that troubled them earlier in the season, New York is still in need of a more cohesive blue line. They could find cheap ways to address this on the open market by acquiring stalwart defender Ilya Lyubushkin or Andrew Peeke. Both players carry a $2.75MM cap hit, though Lyubushkin is set to be a free agent this summer while Peeke is signed through next season. And while neither would demand a top-pairing role, they could each offer a new face to a struggling Islanders defense. The team could also seek out Flyers defender Nick Seeler, who carries a league-minimum $775K cap hit and enters free agency in the summer. Seeler could similarly help provide consistency to the bottom of New York’s defense, while likely not costing much at all. With very little wiggle room and even fewer assets, the Islanders will have to hope for a cheap deal at the Deadline if they want to make a push for the playoffs.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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